PC Peripherals PSU query?

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Ethan_Hunt

Ethan_Hunt

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Not sure if it's the correct section but anyways,I am planning to buy a Leadtek 7900GT TDH Edition card from one of my close friend.Now my only hitch out here is that I have a stock 400Watts PSU which came as a default with my Zebronics Lava cabinet.Now I want to know is that enough for handling the 7900GT? or will I be needing a 500Watts PSU? I have only one optical driver & one Hard disk.Will it be sufficient? I am not sure about it's amps & rail ratings but will it matter for this card or is it just in case of high-end cards? :S

My friend has also told me that if the PSU fails to supply enough power then he would sell his 500Watts PSU to me.But I want to know what are the reprecussions of the low PSU power.Will it fry the card or cause any physical damage to it? This is one place I am seriously stuck at & it's very crucial for me to decide.Please help people.Also is this card a good buy over an DX10 based 8600GT?
 
:) Default psus are generally not of a very high quality...

If within budget try to buy the powersafe 500 watts for around 2500 bucks...

That will be good enough for your needs.
 
I'm sure it won't be enough but my only question is what will happen if I plug the card in anways? Will it have some ill effects on the card? I will be getting the 500Watts later on if required but this is the only thing which I am doubtful about.:(
 
^^ Most probably, itll run, but your 12V and 3.3V Line Voltages will drop, maybe well outside limited norms.

That affects the Graphics Card, and your Motherboard and CPU adversely. Anything running too much below/above rated specs, is bad for the Device.

Get a Powersafe 500W, its 2.5k, its cheap, its reliable, its a basic requirement.

I ask you to, not skimp on a PSU. Please.
 
:) Most likely nothing will happen...

But why take a risk?

It is unlikely that the psu will be so bad that your card will be fried...

My advice get a new psu :)
 
Yes generic psu's certainly may harm your computer product when trying to use to its max limit, since it maynot be able to give constant output which your computer peripherals may need. It certainly depends on your luck that whether you fry your PSU or your computer peripherals or nothing.
 
raj_pol said:
:) Most likely nothing will happen...

But why take a risk?

It is unlikely that the psu will be so bad that your card will be fried...

My advice get a new psu :)
Click to expand...

At least for a while it will work fine even under the stressed condition. Then slowly The stability of your machine will be affected. Gradually it will take its toll on the components and at some point of time something will fail. If its the PSU that goes bad, then you are lucky. If its the GPU, then you are out of luck.

Happend to me with a Colors IT 400W PSU powering a 6800GT. Luckly the PSU went bust before it caused too much damage to the components. But still the GPU didnt last 2 weeks after that and it went bust too. Shortly before my PSU went bad, I faced many stability issues and once my HDD got corruped too. After I changed to Antec Neo HE 500, There was no such thing as a stability issue. I am sure all my problems earlier were because of the PSU.

@allwyndlima

If you are ready to take the risk of running a 15~20k GPU on a cheapo PSU, go ahead and try it. Those PSU's may be good enough for low-mid end 5~10k GPU's. But for high end GPU's I wouldnt risk them with a cheap PSU. I would recommend that you go for at least a mid end PSU like the CM extreme power 600W if you have a costly GPU.You may also try some of the 450W, 500W basic level PSU's from Antec, CM or even PowerSafe. But in my opinion the CM 600W is the best bang for the buck in the sub 5k range for running a decently high end machine.
 
So it's a process which will gradually take a toll on the system?

In an case,this is all I needed to check.I myself was a bit sceptical when I was initially planning on purchasing the 8600GT,PSU was the only aspect which I was not very clear on.Will try & go in for a 500Watts model from Powersafe.Will the rails & amps rating matter? Also I know this is a rather idiotic question but is this card better than 8600GT? I mean does the 8600GT being DX10 make any difference?

@lord_nemesis:Can't go in for the Coolermaster man as it's way out of the budget.I'll have my friend sell me his VIP 500Watts PSU to me instead.:)
 
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